Social Media

The Chronic Facility

This Saturday at the RCA degree show, design interactions graduate Alison Thomson will present her project, The Chronic Facility as an interactive event. The project is one that tackles major issues concerning our health service, and clever creative solutions to improve it. Based on the system of a resturant, the thinking behind her piece may feel a touch whimsical, but the issues and outcomes will be anything but. A fascinating way of highlighting a sensitive subject and one not to miss if you’re in the area between 1pm and 3pm.

I remember many years ago my big sister moving to London and seeming so cosmopolitan: she did things like grab a quick bite from Pret, or go to the theatre, or eat sushi. She also carried with her at all times something called The London A-Z map in her handbag which she consulted in doorways when it was raining, or as we were rushing along busy pavements. It seemed so thrilling, but at the same time quite daunting: I wasn’t confident at map-reading and was nervous about having to rely so heavily on this minuscule printed map that had different parts of London on entirely different pages and expected you to match them up.

You’ve already seen Sir Peter Blake’s contribution to this year’s Liverpool Biennial; a giant dazzle ship in pop-art colours sailing down the Mersey. But why should Peter have all the fun creating technicolour tug-boats? Well that doesn’t have to be the case anymore. The inspired folks over at Studio Hato have busied themselves recently working with the Biennial curators to create an online resource where maritime enthusiasts can make your own dazzle ship. It’s not a real ship obviously – just a digital one for the internet – but the joy of building it online is just as good.

Bad news guys, I’ve got a new game to tell you about that’s going to eat up all your free time and turn you into one of those dopey phone-tapping lunatics that stare at you all bug-eyed when you ask them to “Get the hell out of the WAY!” on the morning commute. I’ve not had this kind of crippling addiction since Monument Valley, but this one’s bitten me hard.

I can’t remember the last time that an online ad left me open-mouthed and staring blankly at my computer screen, but this from 18 Feet and Rising for Skoda managed it. Easily. The campaign, called Fight For Attention, uses pupil-tracking technology to measure the way the viewer interacts with a 90 second-long split-screen film in which two cars, a white and a blue Skoda, literally vie for your attention. It then creates a personalised infographic to show you which held your attention for longer, identifying the details you missed and creating a percentage measure of which won. It’s space-ace in its accuracy.

Find yourself losing your wallet a few times too often? On the bus after a couple of shandies? No longer in your pocket at a festival? On the cistern of a toilet? Yeah, me too. Luckily we live in the age of technology, so people all over the world are making sure dummies like us can keep track of our personal bits. Where’s Wallet has just made its online debut, and looks fantastic: “Thanks to cutting edge technology, each wallet features a thin, unobtrusive sensor, so you never have to replace your wallet, or its contents, ever again.” Sounds good to me! Before you get your shit old wallet out to actually pay for one of these babies, check out the brilliant interactive website for it illustrated by Harry Bloom. The Where’s Wally? aesthetic of the site asks you to locate lost items, and play fun quizzes about tech. Bash that auctioneer’s gavel down, I am s-o-l-d.

This is fantastic. An interactive, well-designed web article about Tod Papageorge, who photographed Studio 54 in its heydey, with accompanying photographs of said photographer by one of my favourite photographers Jeremy Liebman. And that’s not all, as you scroll down this slick, smooth site and learn about the glitter-smeared naughtiness of the club that notoriously only let in people with “high energy” and was once referred to as the best party in the world, ever, you are treated to soundbites from an interview with Tod about his new book.